Is the Spit Man Made?

Aug 21, 2012

The Spit has been present as a natural form since at least the 1800's. It gradually moved in a northerly direction as the Nerang River silted up and then burst free to the ocean again. The river mouth was most likely open at Narrow Neck in the mid 1800's and then near the Southport Surf Club in the late 1800's. The Nerang Community have records of boating down the River to the mouth and picnicking and fishing in that area from the late 1800's. By the 1940's the northerly end of the Spit was pretty much where it ends at the southern Seaway Wall today. Construction on the Seaway Wall began in 1985 on the southern side of the northern tip of the Spit, so in fact the river mouth was, at that time, slightly north of the current Seaway. The dredge spoils from the construction of the Seaway were used to make much of Doug Jennings Park and the western arm of the Marine Stadium. Wavebreak Island was also built from dredged material although photographs from the period show a substantial sand bank in that area on which Wavebreak was built. As its name suggests, Wavebreak Island is engineered as a sacrificial island to protect the built environment and revetment walls on the western side of Broadwater from collapsing during storm surge, flood and cyclone events, therefore, the sand operates as a buffer absorbing wave energy through the dispersal of the sand. Wavebreak is not meant to have built structures on it as that would exacerbate the destruction of the western revetment walls.

Also The argument that any public park, open space or waterway that is man-made should be available for private commercial development, lease or ownership is a false one.

If it were the case then Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Gardens in Brisbane (or any Botanic Garden in any city in OZ which is 'man-made') could be taken over by commercial developers. Mt Coot-tha would be a great spot for a casino, 4000 apartments and an airstrip. But it would be morally and socially reprehensible for such a thing to occur. The same argument against privitisation goes for the Gold Coast's parks, beaches, foreshores and gardens which are currently used by all residents and visitors to the GC whether 'man-made' or not.

The process of the Spit growing in a northerly direction from 'Main Beach Point' was accelerated in 1897-1898 when a series of gales and high seas broke through a stretch of sand called Jumpinpin on Stradbroke Island.

Other legends suggest a vessel loaded with explosives accidently (or on purpose) blew up at Jumpinpin thus breaching Jumpinpin and opening a channel to the sea. Stradbroke Island was then divided into two (North and South), changing the tidal movements in southern Moreton Bay. Combined with the oceanside northerly longshore (littoral) sand movement the Spit continued to grow in a northerly direction until the Seaway was completed in 1986.